Industries most reliant on immigration worst offenders

The industries most reliant on immigration are the worst offenders when it comes to meeting their most basic employment obligations, says Labour’s Immigration spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway.

“The industries that are most reliant on immigration are Hospitality, Administration, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing according to figures released to Labour under the Official Information Act. Along with Construction these are also the industries in which employers most often fail to provide employees with a written employment agreement.

“A written employment agreement is not only required in law, it is the most basic protection a worker has against being paid below the minimum wage, having holiday pay withheld, working dangerously long hours or not being paid for work they have done.

“Rampant exploitation of migrant workers is an issue the Government is already struggling with. That will only get worse as long as the Government allows rogue employers to take advantage of vulnerable migrant workers rather than cleaning up their own act.

“Unlike John Key and Michael Woodhouse, Labour hasn’t written off a generation of Kiwis as hopeless, lazy and addicted to drugs. Andrew Little’s Government will focus on getting wages up, making workplaces safer and enforcing the basic standards of good employment so that Kiwis have decent work to hope for, not a future of exploitation,” says Iain Lees-Galloway.